About
Mary Astor, born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke, was an American actress and author. Her film career spanned from 1921 to 1964, from silent films to her final role in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte. She is best known for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Great Lie (1941). She also appeared in Dodsworth, The Prisoner of Zenda, Midnight, The Palm Beach Story, Meet Me in St. Louis, and Little Women. In addition to acting, she wrote two bestselling memoirs and five novels. Her personal life was marked by a scandal during a custody battle for her daughter in 1936.
* 1906-05-03 — † 1987-09-25
Major works
- The Maltese Falcon (1941)film
- The Great Lie (1941)film
- My Story: An Autobiography (1959)autobiography
- A Life on Film (1971)memoir
- Little Women (1949)film
Key milestones
- 1941Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Great Lie.
- 1936Custody battle over her daughter, which became a Hollywood scandal.
- 1960Published her first novel, marking the start of her writing career.
Themes
Classic Hollywood cinemaMemoir and autobiographyScandal and private lifeCharacter rolesTransition from silent to sound fil
Sources: id.loc.gov · dlc.library.columbia.edu · getty.edu